Food products representing wholesome, often natural, snacks can be found in various forms, including snack bars. Depending on the composition of the bars, they can be classified in numerous ways, including as nutrition bars. It is known in the art to specifically enhance the protein level of certain food products, including nutrition bars. Certainly, there exist an abundance of potential protein sources, such as soybean, cottonseed, meat, poultry, fish and the like meals. Nuts are another potential source of protein proposed for addition into food products, including snack bars, to enhance the protein level of the overall food product.
Of course, protein sources in liquid and powder forms can be rather easily incorporated into an overall snack food composition. However, one particular concern of the present invention is the addition of protein particulates into a high moisture level food base. In this context, unless the resulting snack product is consumed in a relatively short period of time, excessive moisture from the food base will migrate into the protein particulates, thereby changing the entire consistency and texture of the food product. In some situations, this may be deemed perfectly acceptable. However, in accordance with the invention, it is actually desired to provide crunchy protein particulates and maintain the crunchy nature of the protein particulates for extended periods of time. Under these circumstances, provisions must be taken to maintain the desired attributes of the protein particulates. As the present invention is also concerned with the nature of the ingredients employed, as well as the type and percentage of protein utilized, still further potential problems need to be addressed to establish an acceptable result.